Dayton, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Permitted zones
- I-1 and I-2 Districts only, conditional use
- Residential/institutional buffer
- 500 feet
- School/library/park/church buffer
- 1,000 feet
- Other adult business buffer
- 1,000 feet
Summary
Dayton confines sexually oriented businesses to I-1 and I-2 industrial districts as a conditional use, with strict distance separations from homes, schools, parks, churches and other adult businesses.
(A) A sexually oriented business may only be located as a conditional use in the I-1 and I-2 Districts. (B) No sexually oriented business shall be established within 500 feet of any residential zoning district boundary or Campus-Institutional District boundary. (C) No sexually oriented business shall be established within a radius of 1,000 feet of any lot containing a school, library, or teaching facility...
Full Breakdown
Dayton's zoning code permits a sexually oriented business only as a conditional use in the I-1 and I-2 Industrial Districts. It cannot locate within 500 feet of any residential or Campus-Institutional district boundary, or within 1,000 feet of a school, library or teaching facility serving minors, a park or recreational facility used by minors, a church, synagogue, mosque or other place of religious services attended by minors, or another sexually oriented business. The rule covers adult arcades, adult bookstores/novelty/video stores, adult cabarets, adult motion picture theaters, adult theaters, nude model studios and sexual encounter centers, all defined in § 150.950.2.
Violations & Fines
Establishing or operating a sexually oriented business outside the I-1/I-2 Districts or within a restricted buffer is a zoning violation subject to the city's zoning enforcement and penalty provisions under § 150.130.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a sexually oriented business open downtown or in a commercial district?
How close can an adult business be to a school in Dayton?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dayton
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